scholarly journals Study on the Spillover of Sediment during Typical Tidal Processes in the Yangtze Estuary Using a High-Resolution Numerical Model

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dechao Hu ◽  
Min Wang ◽  
Shiming Yao ◽  
Zhongwu Jin

Because of special morphologies and complex runoff–tide interactions, the landward floodtide flows in Yangtze Estuary are observed to spill over from the North to the South Branches, carrying a lot of sediment. To quantitatively clarify the spillover problem, a two-dimensional numerical model using a high-resolution channel-refined unstructured grid is developed for the entire Yangtze Estuary from Datong to river mouths (620 km) and part of the East Sea. The developed model ensures a good description of the river-coast-ocean coupling, the irregular boundaries, and local river regimes in the Yangtze Estuary. In tests, the simulated histories of the tidal level, depth-averaged velocity, and sediment concentration agree well with field data. The spillover of sediment in the Yangtze Estuary is studied using the condition of a spring and a neap tide in dry seasons. For a representative cross-section in the upper reach of the North Branch (QLG), the difference of the cross-sectional sediment flux (CSSF) between floodtide and ebbtide durations is 43.85–11.26 × 104 t/day, accounting for 37.5–34.9% of the landward floodtide CSSF. The mechanics of sediment spillover in Yangtze Estuary are clarified in terms of a successive process comprising the source, transport, and drainage of the spillover sediment.

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haifei Yang ◽  
Bochang Li ◽  
Chaoyang Zhang ◽  
Hongjie Qiao ◽  
Yuting Liu ◽  
...  

Water and sediment are two of the most essential elements in estuaries. Their product, suspended sediment concentration (SSC), is involved in hydrology, geomorphology and ecology. This study was focused on the spatial and temporal variations of SSC in the Yangtze Estuary under new situations after the closure of ~50,000 dams in the Yangtze basin, including the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) in 2003. It was found that the SSC first exhibited an increasing and then a decreasing trend longitudinally from Xuliujing Station to the outer estuary with the Turbidity Maximum Zone located in the mouth bar area. Vertically, the SSC in the bottom layers averaged 0.96 kg/m3, about 2.4 times larger than the surface layers (0.40 kg/m3). During spring tides, the SSCs were always higher than those in neap tides, which was fit for the cognition law. As for the seasonal variations in the North Branch and mouth bar area, the SSCs in the dry season were higher than those in the flood season, while in the upper reach of the South Branch and outer estuary, the seasonal variation of SSCs reversed. This phenomenon primarily reflected the competition of riverine sediment flux and local resuspended sediment flux by wind-induced waves. As for the interannual changes, the SSCs demonstrated overall fluctuant downward trends, determined by riverine sediment flux and influenced by waves. This study revealed the new situation of SSC and can be a reference for other related researches in the Yangtze Estuary.


2012 ◽  
Vol 256-259 ◽  
pp. 2573-2576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Feng Tong ◽  
Tao Yin ◽  
Jian Shi ◽  
Yu Yang Shao

For the construction of water conservancy project in the upstream of the Yangtze River and the human activities, the runoff and sediment discharge from the upstream to East China Sea have changed greatly. To explore the distribution characteristics of suspended sediment in Yangtze Estuary under the new upstream boundary condition, a 2-D flow-sediment numerical model including the Yangtze Estuary and the Hangzhou Bay was established. Four different runoffs, which are 4,620m³/s, 11,000m³/s, 75,900m³/s and 90,000m³/s respectively, and the correspond sediment discharges were considered. The result indicates that, with the increase of upstream runoff, the sediment intrusion from the top of the North Branch into the North Branch decreases and the suspended sediment concentration field in the South Branch changes is greater than that in the North Branch. In the same region, the sediment concentration decreases during rising tide while it increases at low tide. The change of the core position for suspended sediment field is insignificant.


2006 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mun Woo ◽  
Charitha Pattiaratchi ◽  
William Schroeder

The Ningaloo Current (NC) is a wind-driven, northward-flowing current present during the summer months along the continental shelf between the latitudes of 22° and 24°S off the coastline of Western Australia. The southward flowing Leeuwin Current is located further offshore and flows along the continental shelf break and slope, transporting warm, relatively fresh, tropical water poleward. A recurrent feature, frequently observed in satellite images (both thermal and ocean colour), is an anti-clockwise circulation located offshore Point Cloates. Here, the seaward extension of the coastal promontory blocks off the broad, gradual southern shelf, leaving only a narrow, extremely steep shelf to the north. The reduction in the cross-sectional area, from the coast to the 50 m contour, between southward and northward of the promontory is ~80%. Here, a numerical model study is undertaken to simulate processes leading to the development of the recirculation feature offshore Point Cloates. The numerical model output reproduced the recirculation feature and indicated that a combination of southerly winds, and coastal and bottom topography, off Point Cloates is responsible for the recirculation. The results also demonstrated that stronger southerly winds generated a higher volume transport in the NC and that the recirculation feature was dependent on the wind speed, with stronger winds decreasing the relative strength of the recirculation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 2591-2597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amer Mahmoud Sindiani ◽  
Rawan Obeidat ◽  
Omar Jbarah ◽  
Ethar Hazaimeh

Objectives This study aimed to determine leptin levels in term newborns who were born in the north of Jordan. We also aimed to investigate the relationships of leptin levels with fetal growth parameters, and to assess the difference in leptin levels according to sex and gestational age. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study that involved 170 term newborns was conducted. A working sheet for data collection was created for each newborn and included sex, weight, length, head circumference, gestational age, and Apgar score. Blood samples were obtained from the umbilical cord vein of newborns after delivery to measure serum leptin levels. Data are shown as frequency, percentages, means, and standard deviations. Results We found that the mean leptin level was 1.17 ± 0.48 ng/mL. The independent t-test showed that the mean leptin level in boys (0.93 ± 0. 34 ng/mL) was significantly lower than that in girls (1.38 ± 0.47 ng/mL). Pearson’s correlations showed that leptin levels of newborns were positively and significantly correlated with weight, length, and head circumference. Conclusion In Jordanian healthy term newborns, leptin levels correlate with sex and intrauterine growth parameters.


2017 ◽  
Vol 196 ◽  
pp. 399-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuyang Shao ◽  
Xiaoteng Shen ◽  
Jerome P.-Y. Maa ◽  
Jian Shen

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (33) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Zheng Bing Wang ◽  
Pingxing Ding

The channels in the Yangtze Estuary have an ordered-branching structure: The estuary is first divided by the Chongming Island into the North Branch and the South Branch. Then the South Branch is divided into the North Channel and South Channel by the Islands Changxing and Hengsha. The South Channel is again divided into the North and South Passage by the Jiuduansha Shoal. This three-level bifurcation and four-outlet configuration appears to be a natural character of the estuary, also in the past (Chen et al., 1982), although the whole system has been extending into the East China Sea in the southeast direction due to the abundant sediment supply from the Yangtze River. Recently, the natural development of the system seems to be substantially disturbed by human interferences, especially the Deep Navigation Channel Project. For the understanding of the behaviour of the bifurcating channel system in the estuary we present analysis on two aspects: (1) the equilibrium configuration of river delta distributary networks, and (2) influence of tidal flow on the morphological equilibrium of rivers. Based on the analyses we conclude that the branching channel structure of the Yangtze Estuary can be classified as tide-influenced river delta distributary networks. Its basic structure is the same as in case of river dominated delta. The empirical relations describing the basic features of the river-dominated distributary delta networks can be explained by theoretical analysis, although they are not fully satisfied by the Yangtze Estuary because of the influence of the tide. Two major influences of the tide are identified, viz. increasing the resistance to the river flow into the sea and increasing the sediment transport capacity. As consequence of these two influences the cross-sectional area of the river/estuary increases in the seawards direction and the bed slope decreases. The insights from the analyses are helpful for the understanding of the impact of the Deep Navigation Channel Project on the large scale morphological development of the estuary.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huib E. de Swart ◽  
Inge van Tongeren

<p>Many estuarine systems experience increased salt intrusion, which is harmful for ecology and agriculture and may cause problems for fresh water supply to cities. Some causes of salt intrusion are extraction of fresh water in the upper reaches of the estuary and climate change. Besides, anthropogenic measures, like deepening of channels, are known to have a strong impact on the salt balance.</p><p>This contribution focuses on salt intrusion in estuarine networks, which consist of multiple connected channels. The motivation of the study arose from observations in the Yangtze estuary that reveal frequent overspill of salt between its different channels. To understand the underlying physics of such behaviour, an exploratory, width- and tidally averaged model has been developed and analysed. This model describes the competition between export of salt by river flow and import of salt by density-driven flow and horizontal diffusion. Its key new aspect is that it generalises an earlier model MacCready (2004) from a single channel to estuarine networks. The new model calculates the distribution of salt in, and salt exchange between the channels, as well as the distribution of river water over the different channels.  </p><p>Here, results will be presented for a simplified estuarine network consisting of the South Channel, South Passage and North Passage of the Yangtze Estuary. It will be shown that, for the present-day situation, dry season and spring tide, salt intrusion is larger in the South Passage than in the North Passage. As will be explained, this is mainly due to the different geometry of the two channels. Furthermore, it will be shown that there is slightly more river water transport through the South Passage than through the North Passage, except during high river discharge and neap tide. These results agree with field data and results from numerical studies.</p><p>Other results that will be presented are the sensitivity of salinity intrusion length and distribution of river water over the different channels to changes in, respectively, upstream river discharge, tidal currents and human interventions. Specifically, the effects of the creation of a Deepwater Navigation Channel in the North Passage on salt dynamics will be shown and discussed.</p><p>Reference:<br>MacCready, P. 2004. Toward a unified theory of tidally-averaged estuarine salinity structure. Estuaries 27, 561-570.</p>


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